Thrawn's Revelation
by Spectre6
Summary: In the moments before the purgill arrive, Ezra and Thrawn have a thoughtful discussion.


**Author's Note:** This story will contain spoilers for the ending of Rebels. Hello again! With the amazing ending of Rebels, I was inspired to write a one shot about Ezra and Thrawn's interaction. Rather than writing out the entire episode, I will be starting before the purrgil arrive. It is currently unconfirmed if Thrawn survived, so the ending is open ended. I have made slight alterations to the interaction between Thrawn and Ezra to suit my preference.

As usual, all constructive criticism welcome! I apologize in advance if there are any small or stupid errors that I missed.

This has been a wild ride, sad to see Rebels end. That said, I hope for a future show about Ezra!

May The Force Be With you,

Garyn

-

Under normal circumstances, Thrawn was the only one calm and collected. Thrawn was the one with a back up plan in case the elusive Ghost crew pulled something out of thin air. Instead, standing before him was the Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, showing no fear. Of course, there had been the brief looks of shock and horror on the boy's face, but as he stared into Thrawn's eyes, the boy was filled with defiance and confidence. Thrawn wasn't an idiot, the look from Ezra Bridger was his usual when he had a trick up his sleeve. Thrawn had studied this crew, specifically the Jedi, as much as possible. He knew that if Bridger had surrendered himself, he most likely had some back up plan. Despite the current predicament, Thrawn had no interest in the fight that was soon to be over anyway. He had other concerns. "Tell me about the Bendu."

Ezra Bridger had been expecting to be tortured, to be forced to have his friends stand down, to be turned over to Sidious, anything but what Thrawn asked. Ezra's eye raised in curiosity and suspicion. "The what?" He asked, trying to play stupid.

Thrawn turned away, walking to the window of his Destroyer, staring out at the planet below. "I've met him already, and being Lothal's self proclaimed protector, I'm positive you have too."

Ezra reached out with the Force and was surprised when he could sense genuine curiosity. Taking the few seconds to think, Ezra figured he could entertain Thrawn long enough for his plan to come into motion. "I don't know much about him...or it, myself. He claims to be a being of the Force that is neither light nor dark."

Thrawn rubbed his chin in thought. From what he knew, for certain Force related events to happen, it had significance. They never just happened. His meeting with the Bendu had gotten Thrawn to think more about it and the Force. "This Bendu seemed to believe I would have a defeat. Clearly that is not the case, but I wonder why he'd make such a bold claim for something that is yet to happen. Could he have visions of the future that far exceed even yourself?"

Ezra hated to admit it, but his own curiosity about the Bendu was sparked. Ezra was reminded about whatever it was he experienced, between worlds, or however you'd put it. "With what I went through recently, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case." Ezra paused, debating his next question. "Why are you so interested all of a sudden? Up until now your only interest has been killing us."

Thrawn turned to face Ezra, and walked towards him, his face softening ever so slightly. "I'm interested in art, young Bridger. Believe it or not, the Force is a form of it. Nothing else in this world allows you to move things with your mind, cause pain to others without touching them, talk to them in their mind, and the myriad of other things that the Force allows. This Bendu creature only made me more curious. In all my studies, never have I heard of an actual Force being. My research did yield some creatures known as Mortis, but there was very little information available."

This felt unreal. Ezra was having a polite, serious discussion with Grand Admiral Thrawn. _Am I delusional? Did they inject me when I wasn't aware?_

Thrawn smiled with satisfaction as the boy was very clearly confused. "You have the ability to murder without ever being caught. So why don't you? We live in a galaxy plagued by those who would do harm without a second thought."

Ezra chuckled. "You mean your Empire?"

Thrawn waved him off. "Think what you will of the Empire and this war. It's merely a game that truly means nothing. Good or evil, win or lose. Whoever wins still loses, and whoever loses still wins."

Ezra looked at him stupidly. "What does that mean?"

"War is started with the intent of either one side dominating the other for total control, or both sides dominating each other. You're either fighting to take over, or fighting to defend. With the war we are in now, we're fighting to take over. Even if your Rebellion somehow wins, there will still be evil in the galaxy. It might not be the Empire, but it will be there, even if it's drugs, pirates, whatever else you can think of. You cannot truly get rid of evil." Thrawn paused, letting that sink it. "and if the Empire wins, it means things will get worse. They will crack down on the planets that gave them the most trouble. It means more traitors will arise to fight the Empire, which will launch us into another war that will again spread across the galaxy, and again killing more innocent people."

Ezra was confused before, now he was stunned and baffled beyond belief. Was he hearing what he thought he was? "If you don't believe in your Empire, why are you fighting for them?"

"You don't have to believe in something to fight, even though it is encouraged. Why do you think many of our stormtroopers lack the brains and ability to capture you? Most are incompetent fools who joined the Empire as a stable job and source of income. We have the numbers, but not the intelligence as the old Republic did. That is our strength and weakness."

"You must realize numbers won't get you far. So why keep trying to fight us?" Ezra asked.

"You don't need brains to be a soldier. Death is an expected outcome in war, and is acceptable if our troopers are not competent enough to defend themselves."

Ezra felt his anger rise. "So you're recruiting people just to die."

Thrawn nodded. "War is hell, young Bridger. There has never been, nor will there be a peaceful war. Now, answer my question. You can use the Force to do whatever you want. Why don't you?"

"Is that even a serious question? I was given the Force to do good, to help others."

"How do you know what you're meant to use it for? Did the Force tell you this?"

"N-no."

"Then what makes you believe you're meant to do good with it?"

"Because it's my choice." Ezra stared the Chiss in his red eyes - eyes that still sent a shiver down his spine. "The Force is part of you, it is up to you to decide how you use it. I choose to use the Force to benefit others. To save their lives and make things better."

Thrawn thought about this, his thoughts going to his own people, his own misgivings. Had he been able to, could the Force of helped them? "Couldn't you arguably use the Force to terrorize us since it benefited the Rebellion?"

Ezra had to think about that, he did make a valid point. "You're still living beings with thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. I could use the Force in the same way the Inquisitors and Vader did, but that defeats my purpose. I do not want anyone to fear me, or fear what I might do to them. I am a Force wielder, and someone who wants to liberate others."

Thrawn was more intrigued, but wanted to get back to the main reason he brought this topic up. "What about the Bendu?"

"Uh..what about him?" Ezra asked.

"If he is a being of the Force, where does he fit into all of this? Why would he appear and offer insight?"

The question had been rattling in Ezra's mind about why Thrawn would ask such a thing, why would an interaction with Bendu mean so much to Thrawn? "I've gotten headaches trying to answer any questions about the Bendu."

Thrawn thought for several minutes. He still had some questions, but he knew this could go on forever if he let it. Not to mention, Bridger was probably stalling, which didn't matter. Alas, Thrawn had one final question he couldn't help but ask. "You could easily harm me about now. Granted, my stormtroopers would kill you in seconds, but you'd of at least gotten me. So why are you holding back?" For your friends to save you?

Yes, Ezra was stalling, but he found himself engrossed in the discussion with Thrawn. "Lets just say I was curious what you'd say now that you finally caught me."

Thrawn smirked at his response. "You really should die on this bridge for all the trouble you've caused this Empire." Thrawn said, changing the tone and topic. "But our Emperor believes you should be kept alive."

"Then kill me if you think it should happen. You know your master is going to do it anyway, do you really want him getting the satisfaction you've craved?"

"You misunderstand, Bridger. I said you should die, not that I wanted to be the one who killed you. No, I prefer watching my enemies wither and suffer in defeat, which will happen to your friends. I just hope Sabine Wren doesn't suffer." Thrawn grinned, knowing he'd strike a nerve.

Ezra glared at the Chiss, and was about to say something when his comm link went off. A smirk formed as he stared at Thrawn.

Thrawn looked at the boy's communicator, then at his face. That look!

"Sir, we have several...things coming out of hyperspace!"

"Good, our reinforcements have arrived." Thrawn said, waiting to watch the smirk fall off Bridger's face.

"N-no, sir. It's something else."

Thrawn turned, approaching the glass. Several things, creatures of some type, entered the sector, led by none other than the Ghost. The creates began attacking his fleet, and to Thrawn's surprise, began destroying their ships. He initially thought the creatures were harmless and not capable of taking on a Star Destroyer, but he was clearly proven wrong. Thrawn turned to Bridger, but before he could do anything else one of the creatures crashed into the ship, sending its tentacles through the side windows. Before Thrawn could even act, a pair of tentacles pinned him against the glass. Thrawn struggled against the creature, and looked towards Bridger who was trying to make an escape, but was being slowed by stormtroopers. Thrawn managed to fight the creature long enough to lift his arm, and fired at Bridger, hitting him. Thrawn could've kept firing had the creature not tightened its hold on him.

 _What is happening next? How am I getting out of this? What ways could I fight out of this hold?_ All questions Thrawn asked, but his thinking was interrupted as he heard Bridger begin to speak. For a brief second, Thrawn felt he was delirious. It sounded like the boy was saying his goodbyes? Thrawn's best assumption was that the ship was going to be destroyed. The Bendu's words came back to Thrawn, and anger filled him. This creature had predicted his demise, predicted his loss, and there was nothing Thrawn could've done to change it. Bendu had outsmarted Thrawn, something that not many had the glory of. Death was not something Thrawn wanted, he still had much to do, which included finishing the Rebellion and trying to help his people. It couldn't end like this, not at the hands of these creatures. Not at the hands of...BRIDGER! Thrawn's mood shifted dramatically as he remembered one very key detail: Bridger would be dying as well. FINALLY! The Jedi that chose to defy them would be dead, the Jedi that sparked hope for the Rebellion would fall! Thrawn might die, but so would the Rebellion's spirit at losing their leverage to the Empire.

With satisfaction on his face, Thrawn closed his eyes and embraced death.


End file.
